The Hated Transition

So I figured it was about time that I put something new on my blog and acknowledged that I still have one.

I would like to complain about a much hated transition in the life of a toddler. To nap or not to nap...that is the question. My kids rarely nap after they are two and he will be two in January. I am at the point where I seriously don't know if I should let him nap or not.

After many failed attempts to give him a nap at his usual time I began putting him down an hour later. That worked for a while, but now he is fighting that. So, I decide to let him out and skip the nap, but then he will randomly fall asleep. (I remember when my other kids were going through this phase and I got some really funny sleeping pictures.) After the random nap he will wake up grumpy and clingy and I won't get anything done and he will cry endlessly without know what he wants for consolation.

At this point I don't care if he naps or not I just wish he could make up his mind.

Fun Idea!

Josh's Chinese class gets very creative and we enjoy seeing the many ways they find of getting the kids excited about the new language and culture.

The children have the opportunity to correspond electronically with kids at a sister school in Taiwan. The kids are really excited about this.

Well, I was surprised when Josh came home from school yesterday with a Chinese Dragon beany baby. He said that they had two dragons come to their class and they each get a chance to have one spend the night with them. He showed me a book that pictured three stuffed dragons that introduced them as the Dragon Family from China (the book also featured pictures of the dragons on different things in China) and explained that the two baby dragons were Ting and Tang. Josh brought Tang home. The kids were then encouraged to play with the dragon and teach him about things that they like to do, then write about it in the book and add photos if they wanted.

Josh was only the second student in the class to get a turn and he was so excited. Tang went with him everywhere and he even took him to bed and read him stories. Below are the pictures we put in the book.

Off Track

So the kids have been off track for two weeks now and the time has been filled with swim lessons. They are doing great. Josh and Emily were excited to pass their levels and can now move up when they take their next lesson.

So while the kids were doing this:




Ben was doing this:


and while they did this:



He did this:

His favorite thing was this:

We then tried to enjoy the days when the weather was nice by...
Going to the Park







going on Walks

Jumping on the trampoline

Playing on the computer


And Making and cleaning up messes.



Ben also chose this time to start getting his molars. One has cut already and the other three are close, but taking their time. He is cranky and demanding. I am grateful for the fact that he likes Dad more than Mom and seeks him out whenever he can.

We have other outings planned for this week so stay posted.

1 year old

Little Ben is now 1 year old and he has changed so much. I love his personality and his sense of humor. He is so lovable.

He is 30.9 inches tall.
He weighs 23.5 pounds, putting him at 60%.
He loves to play with his siblings, trucks,
balls, pans, lids, bags,...anything he can get to.
He enjoys his freedom as he walks everywhere, but
is still hesitant to try the stairs...I guess he fell too many times (3)

We love you Ben!!

Create a free photo slideshow

Birthday Girl!

This is a belated tribute to Laurie. She is now a big girl at the age of 4. She was very excited to be four until she had to get five shots at the doctor and now she wants to be three again because she doesn't like shots.

Her favorite color is pink.
Her favorite outfit is dresses.
She has to have her hair up half-way in two ponytails so she can twist her hair.
She is almost 40 inches tall and weighs 36.5 pounds.
She likes to play on the "compluter" and is learning her numbers and letters.
She loves to sing, dance, play with dolls and dress up.

A Fun Saturday Afternoon With The Camera

Graydon bought a new "business" computer for his birthday and so we've been having some fun with it today.

Here's a slideshow video of some pictures we took of Laurie.

Here's a video Emily took & we put up on YouTube

And a video Josh took that we put up on YouTube.

Nothing fancy yet. Just playing around....

Fire Station

I forgot to share this. Last month was the annual Fire Station Open House and they had a great surprise for everyone. They were giving rides in the fire truck. We waited in line for at least a half hour, but soon it was our turn.

Josh was given the honor of riding in the front. He and Emily were both wanting to ride in front, but "Eeny Meeny Miney Moe" solved the problem. The rest of us sat in the back. We were given headsets so that we could talk to Josh and each other. It was a lot of fun. The kids also got to spray the fire hose, escape a smoke-filled room and see fire fighter propel down a wall. They also got to ride on a machine that imitates a head on car crash; they called it the bumper cars.